Loved

Who loves you?

Make the list in your head!

For some of you, that list was a lot shorter than you imagined, while others left off some people after they ran out of fingers.

Whether in this moment you feel you are loved by many or by few, I want you to hear this clearly:

God loves you!

How do I know that?

Because Jesus shows us that He loves people nobody likes.

I am not saying you are unlikeable, but in Luke 19, we see Jesus love one of the most hated people in the community of Jericho: Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus was a tax collector, meaning he was the IRS if IRS agents could also charge extra to line their own pockets. No one likes the IRS, much less a crooked IRS agent who is living in luxury while you barely scrape by.

Out of all the people in Jericho Jesus could have spent time with, He chose Zacchaeus.

Why?

Jesus loves people nobody else likes.

There is no one on earth, or anyone who has ever walked the earth, that Creator God did not love. You are not the exception.

Your past, your present, your language, your laziness, your manipulation, your mental illness, your lifestyle, nor your lies disqualify you from being loved by God.

Jesus loves you.

Today at Best Week Ever, our students will hear:

Jesus loves us no matter what we have done and where we are.

Jesus loves us when we hit our sister.

Jesus loves us when we lie to our parents.

Jesus loves us when we use bad words about our friends.

Jesus loves us even when we say we don’t love Him.

Jesus loves us when we are embarrassed.

Jesus loves us when we get sent to the principal.

Jesus loves us when we make bad choices.

Jesus loves us when nobody else understands us.

Remember, Jesus wanted to be with Zacchaeus before he changed.

There is nothing I have done that makes Jesus stop loving me.

Sometimes, you may feel like no one loves you.

You may not have friends to play with.

You may be told nobody likes you.

You may be punished by your parents.

You may be left out by your siblings.

You may not get your way.

We all feel that sometimes.

Yet we can always remember:

Jesus loves me.

Always.

Forever.

On your best day and on your worst day.

When you're happy.

When you're angry.

When you're kind.

When you're selfish.

When everybody notices you and when nobody notices you.

Jesus always loves you.